The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1887-01-27

meadows and muck deposits are formed
By Tho ussh irom the hills. the blowing OF
leaves, the falling Of trees and many like
causes aud this 10 trne, but IL rs only
bali truth, the main cause being The
growth and decay Of the lowlapd plants,
mosses, coarse grasses and the like, year
after year. leaving layer upon layer Of
rich. decomposed vegetable matter until
the result is bed OF muck and peat often
from ten 10 twenty feet deep. We find no
peat south OF New York, while north OF US
II is more plenty than here, showing that
it requires cool climate for its formation,
and We only find il in this country 10 low,
wet places. and not on the warmer hill
sides. but in Scotland. where the climsse
il much cooler, it is found on the slopes
and hills as well as in the boilows. ln
Ireland are boys OF meadows covering
hundreds OF square miles and twenty feet
deep TO the hsrdpan, and In this country
are many large tracts OF the same rich soil.
In examining one OF these deposits se find
fret. at the top. muck that is finer and
blacker than the peat below, that is full OF
ibrons roots aud is used for fuel after cut
ting out and drying. and under all is .
material that 10 ks like clay. but Is not
being decsyed mineral formation. we
never find loan under peat, this showing
that these deposits were begun before the
hills we're clothed with soil, and yet IN
some places we find muck foot in depth,
over the stumps OF trees felled by men now
living which would show rapid lorna
tion. All agree that there is an immense
value locked mp in these waste swamps
and lowlsnds, which now yield. at most, Q
little, poor quality hay, worth only 10 or
81 . ton, or small growth Of poor wood,
while thousands Of acres give no returns,
and yet when reclaimed, il is the most
profitable that we cultivate, and therefore
the amount OF lowlands reclaimed is
correct measure Of the enterprise OF our
farmers. We have three farmers in Essex
county, who have raised over one thous-
and bushels Of onions TO the acre on this
reclaimed meadow land the past season,
and We, who are working the old nplands,
may well ask, Are we farming along the
wisest lines, in neglecting these new and
fertile landss' In Orange county, New
York, / have seen reclaimed swamp Of
$50 acres all in onions and yielding large
crops, while its value had risen from "
to $500 per acre In retaining meade"
the first thing is to rid it Of surplus watei
by drainage, and the first object OF drain
ing is to cut off the water that comes from
the hills around it, by running a drain o.
tile. or prebaps an open ditch. II there Is
large amount of water. around 1T. BE sure
OF sufficient fall and good outlet. and
this will often be all the draining needed
as the amount OF water falling upon the
surface is very little more than the sol
needs, for the evaporation nearly squalls
the rainfall. II there are springy places
they must be tapped by cross drains and
the water led off. Drains should be two
and a half to three feet deep. Tile is bet
ter and cheaper than stone, even II the
latter are plenty and handy, as the former
requires less labor in digging and filing,
and gives no chance for mice and musk
rats. II is we'll to cover the joints OF the
tile with scrap Of leather waste, although
they now make rings for joining the tho
which are veIy good. Large drains may
well be open, but should cover all drains
where it is practicable to do SO, as open
drains are continual vexation, preventing
access from one piece to another, bother
ing in blowing or working the land, and
often need clearing out, to say nothing oil
the land they take up. We find that muck
is deficient in silica, one Of the elements
needed 10 all plant growth, or in ether
words, the soil lacks grit and this must
DO added to gain the best results, and to
give body or frmness to it, which is best
done by putting on hundred two-horse
loads OF sand to the acre, making it two
inches or more in depth. Do not pillow OF
all, but use the cultivator or harrow, and
only stir the top, mixing the sand with
the muck but not turning it under. The
sand should be teamed on in winter when
we are least busy and can do it with least
expense. Land so treated will give heavy
crops OF grass without manure, and have
friend in New York who has grown, this
year, 700 bushels of onions to the acre on
this sort OF land without manure or fertill-
zers, but we should generally apply
something after year or two. If not at
first, aud to know what TO use we must
first find what is lacking. Muck is rich
in ammonia as is shown by the leafy
growth OF all plants raised on it, and by
chemical analysis. Prof johnson found
by Analysing thirty three samples, that
the average contained IA loo per cent Vi
ammonia, which is six times as much as
is found in COW manure and more than
In commercial fertilizers, While the lat
ter yield the whole amount to the crop in
one year, and the COW manure requires
two or three years. we find it IN the muck
for al time, and this is the great reason
for ito fertility. In the old country am
monia is distilled from muck, and the am
monia OF commerce comes from the gas
houses, where it is obtained from coal,
which ia only an older formation OF muck,
SO there can be DO doubt Of the amount OF
nitrogen ii contains, sud while so rich IN
this element il is deficient In both potash
and phosptoric acid, watch may best be
supplied by applying unlescbal ashes and
faxttttysrs